Best served slathered with plenty of Irish butter,
Irish soda bread is the best way to start your St. Patrick’s Day festivities. Whether you’re an occasional or avid bread baker, this quick bread is simple to create—the dough comes together in just 10 minutes. Keep it classic, or throw in mix-ins to add a sweet touch; this bread will please either way. Here’s everything you need to know:
What is Irish soda bread?
Irish soda bread is a quick bread that relies on a combination of baking soda (instead of yeast) and buttermilk to rise. It’s a fairly simple bread to create—if you enjoy baking, most likely you’ll already have the ingredients required ready in your pantry. While many Irish soda bread recipes include currants, very traditional Irish soda bread has no mix-ins at all. We’ve included options for a variety of mix-ins, so you can decide whether you’d rather go sweet or serve it up plain with some salty Irish butter.
Top tips for making Irish soda bread:
— How to make Irish soda bread that isn’t dry. When adding your wet ingredients to your dry, stir until just combined—that’s it! Anymore and you could risk overmixing your dough, resulting in a dry loaf.
— Score the top. Before baking, score an X on top of your dough with a sharp knife. This will not only result in the loaf’s classic look, but will help your center bake through.
— Make it classic. If you’re looking for a traditional loaf, don’t add any mix-ins (or use currants), and skip sprinkling extra sugar on top.
— Get creative with your mix-ins. If you feel like adding a sweet twist to this bread, we recommend adding in currants, raisins, or chocolate chips if you really want to make this a sweet bread.
How to serve Irish soda bread:
This bread was made to be sliced and served with a healthy slab of butter. Use Irish butter if you really want to make this as traditional as possible, or add some homemade butter if you have any on hand.
Storage & freezing:
Irish soda bread can dry out quickly, so it’s best to store this bread in an airtight container for around 2-3 days. If you want to freeze your bread, wait for it to cool to room temperature, wrap tightly in plastic wrap then foil, and place in the freezer for around 2 months.
Made this? Let us know how it went in the comment section below!